Through the Mist

It's funny, I'm still so hard on myself about this book of poems I published in 2005.

I don't even advertise it when talking about my writing. I only ever see the flaws; the not-quite-on-rhythm phrasing or I feel embarrassed by the childishness of the imagery. But when I really look back on it, I remember how proud I felt. I was only 14 and poetry was the world I preferred to live in. Growing up, I carried around little Amy Brown fairy notebooks and jotted down all my ideas. It was a compulsion, I just had to. When I was upset, I wrote. When I was happy, I wrote. When I noticed the beauty in the little things, I made sure to write it down.

Pages and pages filled; a continuous stream of consciousness. I remember sitting in Barnes & Noble on a panel with other amazing authors and I could have thought... WOW they all wrote novels and I just have this little book of poems here?

But I didn't think that. Instead, I thought... WOW my book is just as important as all these other novels. I'm an author. I did it.

So today, I'm reminding myself of that little girl who had so much confidence in herself. I'm also reminded that, I believed in myself even before I set that goal... that even if I didn't achieve it, I would have still felt just as confident in my writing.

Always be proud of yourself. Be confident in wherever you are in your journey right now and be confident in your future. Look back at where you've been and be proud of all that you are now.

You did it.